A/N: Wah! ahhhhh, I'm so sorry for that huge delay on this chapoter, guys. I swear that I didn't lose interest for a second, it was just that I wanted to take it as easy as possible over the christmas holidays, and when school started again, it nearly knocked me backwards. Musical rehearsals have been a real time hog lately, and will continue to be until the second week in march, so I can't say how often I'll be able to update till then. But I promise you, I'm very much planning to finish this story. I love the movie and Victor/Emily pairing just as much as I did when I started this thing, plus having the movie in my own hands nowis helping too XD.
So yeah, shorty chapter here. sorry > ;;;;
Disclaimer: see chapter one.
Though We Walk Through the Valley
Chapter 11 - "Wanting"
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Victor's trembling began to cease, and his breathing evened.
What had Barkis been playing at?
Nothing of what he said made any sense, even if all he was trying to do was upset Victor. And… he had said that he had loved Emily, butt hat wasn't true at all. He had to have just been saying things… still though, Victor couldn't help but brood over it. There was just something about what he had said that really bothered him. He wondered how Emily could possibly live (or so to speak) knowing that her murderer was in the same place she was.
"Despicable," Victor whispered to himself. Or so he thought, anyway. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Emily's voice answered from right beside him with a, "yes."
For that moment, Barkis completely disappeared form Victor's mind. He looked down at the ground, not daring to look at the woman next to him. He felt foolish, his behavior reminding himself of a lovesick schoolboy, blushing and stumbling around the girl he liked. He wanted to say something, but was almost frightened of what she might say or do in reply, considering the incidents from earlier on. But then, to his great relief, she spoke first.
"He really did tell me that he loved me," she stated emptily. Without even thinking, Victor turned to look at her. Her expression, like her tone of voice, was empty, and her gaze remained fixated upon the spot Barkis had been last seen. Victor didn't reply, but stayed quiet. He figured she didn't want him to answer anyway.
However, she spoke again. "And I…" she looked down to the cobblestone road. "I really believed him."
Emily's voice trembled as she said this. Her eyes were now shut tight as if they were causing her some sort of pain, and her hands were clenched into fists. Victor looked on at her, finding it nearly impossible to do so. His heart began to ache for the girl beside him. He longed to say something of comfort to her, anything could stop the pain that he knew was plaguing her. Though all he could do was hopelessly stare at her.
For the umpteenth time that day, Victor felt frustrated and angry with himself. He felt so utterly useless and pathetic for not being able to think of anything to do for Emily, the one whom he loved so much. And he felt so ignorant for never noticing her pain before. She had been so full of life, more so than anyone from the world he had grown up in, so there was no way she could possibly be going through any sort of pain, right?
Victor nearly chuckled.
It had never occurred to him that she was just like everybody else… she felt pain, and heartache, and betrayal, and…
A sob echoing through the silence cut Victor from his thoughts. He snapped his gaze back upward toward Emily, and when he saw small tears sliding down her face, he did the thing he had been fighting off since he had arrived there – pulling her to him and locking his arms around her.
"I'm sorry Emily."
He swallowed hard, beginning to feel soba rise up in his own throat. Not knowing exactly why, he apologized a second time, then a third. Again and again, Lord only knew how many times the same words escaped his mouth. He couldn't even remember when the tears began to flow freely from his own eyes, dampening Emily's hair. And it was only when he vaguely felt arms encircle his middle did his mouth stop moving. He wasn't entirely sure I there was even any sound emitting from them anymore.
With every ounce of strength he had left, Victor held onto Emily even tighter, as though she would disappear if he dared let go of her. A rather loud sob escaped him as he placed a hand on the back of Emily's head, taking in as much of her as he possibly could. And in that moment he became unaware of everything around them. Hundreds of people could have suddenly appeared out of thin air, and he never would have noticed. The only thing he could fully comprehend was the soft shushing sounds that Emily was whispering into his ear. He thought he heard words as well, he couldn't fully understand them. Though after a few long moments, he finally heard her say, "You have nothing to apologize for, Victor."
He had a small feeling that she had repeated those same words several times before he had understood it, but he knew that even if she poke them one thousand times, it would never convince him that it was true. He had so much to apologize for, though he felt he didn't even deserve the chance to speak them aloud, or be forgiven for them.
A feeling of agony washed over Victor at that moment. Another sob sounded from him, bringing forth more comforting sounds form Emily. It was odd how he had first embraced her to comfort her, yet now she was the one doing the comforting.
Unexpectedly though, Emily's hands went up to Victor's shoulders, and gently placed more space between them. Immediately, Victor began to miss the warmth of her presence being so close in contact with his. He felt foolish once more, knowing how pathetic he must've looked standing there sniffling, with tear stains tracing the way down his cheeks. He looked down to the ground, away from Emily's eyes.
"Victor," she spoke rather quietly. He didn't respond though, at a loss of what to do, or even say. He knew for a fact that he must've seemed quite childish.
Emily repeated his name, but with much more sternness this time. It was enough to finally get Victor to look up. If he had learned anything useful from living with his mother, it was never to be the cause of a woman's anger. And if you were, you were best off keeping your distance for a while.
An expression of worry met victor's gaze as he looked up into Emily's face. Worry, sadness, and the tiniest hint of determination. For a moment, nothing was said, and the two of them just looked on at each other.
But after a few moments, Emily finally stated, "I want to know, Victor." She lowered her hands to take a hold of his, causing his heart to leap ever so slightly. She continued on.
"I want to know why you're here. For I know that it's troubling you. I know that your pain just now was just your pity for me."
Victor's heartbeat sped up at her request. It wasn't as if he didn't know it would come to this, but… he didn't know he would be so unprepared for it.
"Oh, Emily..." he whispered despairingly. He tightened his fingers around her own, and bit down on his bottom lip nervously. He took a deep breath, and before he became frightened enough to stop himself, the story began to flow from his mouth.